Bournemouth vs Stoke City. Sky Bet Championship.
Vitality StadiumAttendance9,613.
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between Bournemouth and Stoke City at the Vitality Stadium as the home side come from behind to win after Morgan Fox's red card
Saturday 26 February 2022 18:31, UK
Jamal Lowe grabbed an 89th-minute winner as promotion-chasing Bournemouth produced a late show to beat Stoke 2-1 at home.
Winger Lowe thrashed in the decider after Dominic Solanke had bundled in his 20th Championship goal of the season with seven minutes to spare.
Stoke had taken the lead through Tommy Smith's 20th-minute thunderous drive, his first goal of the season.
But the Potters were up against it after Morgan Fox's straight red for clattering into Philip Billing forced them to play a man light for just under an hour as the Cherries celebrated their fourth straight win.
The first 20 minutes saw plenty of pressing and posturing but little goalmouth action - with Bournemouth playing their first game for a fortnight after a pair of postponements due to Storm Eunice.
The dour opening was ended in style by Smith's thunderous finish from the right angle of the box.
Smith latched onto a free ball after Chris Mepham's last-ditch tackle halted Jacob Brown with the right wing-back thrashing in off the post.
It was the 29-year-old's first goal since scoring an almost identical goal at the Vitality Stadium on the last day of last season.
The Cherries appeared to lose their composure as Todd Cantwell and Lewis Cook both gave the ball away in midfield.
Cantwell was bailed out by keeper Mark Travers' fingertips to deny Brown and Cook when Nick Powell's effort was deflected over the bar.
Stoke's dominance came crashing down in the 32nd minute when Fox was shown the second red card of his career.
The left-sided defender overran the ball before crashing studs first into Billing.
It summed up a feisty first-half battle, which also saw Tommy Smith, Brown, Mepham and Lowe booked.
Bournemouth jolted into a more attacking set-up, higher up the pitch, and had the ball in the back of the net two minutes later, albeit off Solanke's hand.
Billing dragged a shot wide on the cusp of the break before Cantwell's header forced Jack Bonham into an acrobatic palm behind.
Danish midfielder Billing scooped over from six yards in the 52nd minute before striking the bar with a header.
Despite a numerical disadvantage, the Potters should have pulled further ahead when Lewis Baker's whipped free-kick was nodded over by Manchester City loanee Taylor Harwood-Bellis.
Bournemouth's hopes seemed to have fizzled out until a late surge.
Solanke couldn't miss from a yard after Lloyd Kelly had nodded a free-kick across the face of the goal to celebrate his 21st goal of the season.
Lowe couldn't curl his effort enough on the turn and substitute Emiliano Marcondes forced a save out of Bonham.
But the former Portsmouth and Swansea man fired in the winner after a goalmouth scramble.
Bournemouth's Scott Parker: "It has been a big week for Jamal after his wife gave birth on Thursday. He has rounded off that week and there is no better feeling than scoring a winner.
"Three weeks ago Jamal was training on his own as he wasn't in the squad but fair play to his resilience. He has shown his character and shows how quickly things can change for personnel."
Stoke's Michael O'Neill: "We were the better team until the red card, there is no doubt about that. We were terrific for how we played for 60 minutes with 10 men. We thought we had weathered the storm. It is never a red card and if it is a red card then Zemura's tackle on Brown is a red card, they are exactly the same challenge. One's a red card and one's a throw in - how'd you work that out?
"We had got them into a period where they ran out of ideas but then they overloaded us in the wide areas and eventually a combination of fatigue and concentration made us concede two goals. The ref couldn't wait to get the red card out. Morgan has overrun the ball a little bit but it isn't even really a tackle."
